1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multi-part label sheet for use with a non-impact printer, and more particularly, to a multi-part label sheet for producing delivery confirmation labels which may be used for United States Postal Service mailings.
2. Background Information
Confirming delivery of a mail piece without requiring a return receipt has been historically offered only by private delivery services. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has now taken steps to provide this service to its customers. However, it is desirable to provide these services using forms which conform to the most currently available technologies, namely, the personal computer. The personal computer has revolutionized the postal industry by providing individuals or companies with a versatility of options, including the capability to purchase postage xe2x80x9con-linexe2x80x9d, i.e., over the Internet. Providing delivery confirmation for USPS customers using personal computers is a further advancement of the services available from the USPS.
Most personal computers in use today employ non-impact printing devices such as laser printers. Accordingly, it is necessary to offer printable forms which are compatible with non-impact printers. One feature that can be important and advantageous for printing using a non-impact printer is the capability to print all necessary information on a single face of a sheet or form by a single pass through the non-impact printer.
Multi-part forms, i.e., forms which have multiple sections on a single sheet forming a plurality of labels, can pose particular problems in that certain of these sections may pull away or separate from the sheet or from another of the sections. When this occurs, the remaining sections can be rendered unusable, therefore increasing the amount of waste. For example, a multi-part form comprising two or more lamina, or plies, held together by an adhesive and an adhesive-release material disposed between two contacting plies, and having a perforation between its separable sections, can result in one section separating from another. This can be especially problematic when the perforation parallels a weaker perforation or pressure sensitive cut because the weaker cut will tend to separate before the stronger perforation. Thus, the sections divided by the weaker cut separate before they are intended to be separated.
Typically, such two-ply forms comprise a bottom, or backing, ply having an adhesive-release material disposed substantially over its entire inner face, the inner face being defined as the face contacting an opposing face of an overlying upper or top ply. The upper ply typically has adhesive material disposed on its inner face which opposes and contacts the inner face of the backing ply. The releasable contact between surfaces disposed with a coating of adhesive and surfaces coated with adhesive-release material allow for removing sections, e.g., labels, formed in one of these plies.
Pressure sensitive lines, also known as die-cuts, of various desired shapes and sizes can be made in one of the plies, usually the top ply, so that these areas form sections which serve as removable labels of that desired shape and size. Removing the label section of the upper ply exposes adhesive coated on the inner face of the upper ply. The adhesive-coated face can then be used to affix the removed section to a mail piece, to another form, or to a record sheet.
In addition, multi-part forms often have perforation lines formed through both plies so that entire portions of the sheet can be removed from one another when only certain of the label sections are printed during a particular use. For example, when a user of the label form prints fewer than the total number of labels provided on a sheet, the unused label can be completely separated from the printed labels by tearing the sheet along the perforation line. Thus, the unused labels can be printed and used at a later time. However, these perforations are generally stronger than pressure sensitive cuts. Accordingly, when perforation lines are formed in close proximity to pressure sensitive cuts, the weaker pressure sensitive cuts can separate first, causing the upper ply to shift or tear and create an uneven guide edge on the form. This undesirable result is exacerbated when adhesive release material is present on the surface underlying the pressure sensitive cut. If the upper ply shifts or tears along the line of separation, the unused label can be ruined or can cause a jam in the printer or the sheet feeder mechanism. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a form or label sheet which can alleviate this problem of ply separation.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a multi-part, multi-ply form or label sheet which is advantageously adapted for use with a non-impact printer and can effectively alleviate the problem of shifting or tearing of the unused label section when separating the sections along a perforation line. This label sheet according to the subject invention can be advantageously used for forms which are printed on one side of the form by using a non-impact printer proximate to the time the form is to be used. Preferably, the subject label sheet is adapted for use as a delivery confirmation form that can be printed on a personal computer using a non-impact printer.
The preferred embodiment of the subject label sheet includes a first ply having an outer face on which certain information, e.g., delivery confirmation information, can be printed, and a second ply forming a backing. Preferably, the label sheet can be used to print information on one and the same face of the sheet, allowing for printing by a non-impact printer in communication with a computer having a database which holds information that can be directed to be printed on the form. The subject label sheet comprises a plurality of sections formed by die-cuts or pressure sensitive cuts made in the upper ply wherein the pressure sensitive lines form removable label areas and a bordering matrix area. Pressure sensitive lines of desired shape and size are preferably made through the upper ply but not the backing ply to facilitate removal of the labels. The sheet can further be divided by perforations which can facilitate separation of those label sections from one another. These perforations are preferably made through both the upper and backing plies.
Preferably, the form includes a means for removably affixing the first ply to the second, or backing, ply. More preferably, this removable affixing means comprises a layer of adhesive-release material selectively or patternly disposed or coated on an inner face of the backing ply and an adhesive layer patternly disposed or fully coated on the inner face of the upper ply such that the adhesive is retained on any portion of the upper ply removed from the backing ply. Most preferably, the adhesive-release material can be selectively disposed in a particular pattern such that the adhesive-release material is absent, forming a linear gap in the adhesive-release coating, along the perforation line. This linear gap in the coating of adhesive-release material permits the adhesive disposed on the inner face of the upper ply to come into direct contact with the backing ply material such that the adhesive can form a substantially permanent bond therebetween. The bond formed between the adhesive and the backing ply can advantageously prevent the matrix bordering the perforation line from prematurely separating along the pressure sensitive cut line, thereby shifting or tearing when the form sections are separated along the perforation.
The lower ply of the label sheet according to a further embodiment of the subject invention can also have an adhesive-release-free area around the entire perimeter of the lower ply so that the edges of the plies remain bonded and do not tend to separate or pull apart when fed through a non-impact printer. A further embodiment can have a linear gap or adhesive-free area around the perimetrical edge of the upper ply to prevent adhesive from bleeding or oozing outside the edges of the sheet.